


Choices We Made

by Cookies_and_Chaos



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Broken Friendship, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28240647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos
Summary: Aisha's not sure when their choices took them past the point of no return but it doesn't really matter. They can't go back now. Written for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge 2020, Day 3, "Three Alerting Cries".
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12
Collections: 12 Days of Christmas Challenge 2020





	Choices We Made

"Aisha?"

Shit. Aisha could have sworn she had been alone.

"Aisha, are you okay?"

Maybe if she didn't answer, Sam would think she'd made a mistake and go away. Aisha wiped her eyes with the palms of her hand and clamped her lips shut, listening in hope of the sound of footsteps leading away. There were two steps, it sounded like they were going away from her, and then... what _was_ that noise? The wall of the toilet cubicle shook and Aisha yelped as Samantha LaRusso landed on top of the closed toilet lid.

"Fucking hell, Sam!" Aisha stared at her friend (Ex-friend? Acquaintance? Who the hell knew anymore). "What if I'd been sat on there?"

"I could see your legs under the door, I knew you weren't," Sam said, then continued before Aisha could argue her next point (She didn't know what her next point was going to be but that was besides the point, Sam still stopped her arguing it), "I heard you crying."

"I wasn't crying, I'm fine. So, you can go. Thanks for visiting." It was such a pointless denial and yet Aisha hated that it had been Sam who found her this upset and so denial was really the only tool she had. Cobra Kai didn't cry (or if they did, they sure as hell didn't let anyone see).

"My mistake, you're right. Tears just fall out of my eyes all the time too."

Aisha glared at Sam. Sam just stared right back at her. Aisha didn't mean to smile but her lips twitched and betrayed her and once they had, Sam smiled back and it was impossible for Aisha to keep the glare on her face.

"You're such an ass," Aisha sighed.

"Why are you crying?" Sam asked, dropping from her crouch to sit on the toilet lid.

"Does it matter?" Aisha asked. She didn't want to tell Sam that it was because of Hawk. That it was because he had changed so much that anything which reminded him of who he was before was something to be ridiculed and derived and crushed. That the world had trampled on him so much that now he had self-confidence and some measure of power, he rejected everything he saw as weak about himself from the past and trampled those who didn't reject those same things in themselves. For fucks sake, all she had said was that she still loved robotics and science and all the geeky shows she used to watch with Sam when they were younger.

No, that wasn't all.

For as much as Hawk sneered at all those things, he wouldn't lash out even verbally at a fellow Cobra Kai for just that. Her real crime had been to express doubt in the direction Sensei Kreese was trying to push Cobra Kai and that was what had led to Hawk's cutting remarks (and _goddamn_ did that boy know exactly where to stick the proverbial knife). She certainly couldn't tell Sam that Cobra Kai was on the verge of splitting in two and that there were whispers of uncertainty over who would follow who. Who would align with Sensei Lawrence and who with Sensei Kreese. Sam would delight in that, then she'd run and tell her father and Daniel would be overjoyed too. Neither of them could see the good in Cobra Kai.

The good that Sensei Kreese was slowly siphoning away.

"I want to help." Sam even sounded genuine. Maybe she was. It didn't matter. She couldn't help.

"You can't. You can't just run around and smooth over all the stuff that's happened Sam. Doesn't work like that." Aisha looked down at her feet. "We made our choices. We said what we said and did what we did. We can't go back now."

"But—"

The door into the toilets slammed shut and both of them went quiet as more footsteps came closer. Sam tucked her legs up so her feet couldn't be seen beneath the door (who knew what someone might think seeing two sets of legs in one cubicle, after all?)

"Aisha?"

Brilliant. Now Tory was here. Aisha sure hoped she didn't follow Sam's lead of clambering into the cubicle. There wasn't enough damn space here for the three of them, even if by some miracle Tory and Sam didn't start beating the seven shades of hell out of each other. Aisha decided she better answer to make sure that didn't happen.

"Yeah?"

"Everything alright?"

Aisha looked at Sam, at how her face had tightened with the underlying anger she felt towards Tory. Her whole body was already tensing, anticipating a fight. They were all always anticipating a fight. That was the problem.

"Yeah, just got a bit of a headache. Be out in a sec."

"Alright, we're gonna head out in a few minutes, okay?" Then Tory's footsteps faded as she walked away and silence followed the door shutting behind her.

Aisha smiled at Sam again, a little sadder this time, and Sam's own smile reflected those same feelings back. She understood why Aisha wouldn't — couldn't — tell her what was wrong now.

"There's no way back?" Sam asked.

"I don't think so." Aisha undid the door and stepped out. "Just...don't follow me straight out okay? I don't have the energy for another fight if the others see you."

Sam nodded. Aisha looked at herself in the mirror, splashed some water on her face to try and ease some of the redness around her eyes, then headed to the door. She didn't look back, as much as she wanted to just glance around and see if there was the same regret she felt reflected in Sam's face.

They'd all made their choices.


End file.
